A data feed is an electronic document (often XML-based) which contains content items, such as summaries of stories, media files or weblog posts with web links to the associated story, media file or posts. Weblogs and news websites are common sources for data feeds, but feeds are also used to deliver structured information ranging from weather data, to image files (often referred to as slides), to “top ten” lists of hit songs. The two main data feed formats are RSS (which is older and far more widely used) and Atom (a newer format that has just completed the standardization process). RSS is a family of data feed formats, specified in XML and used for Web syndication. Atom is an open standard that includes both an XML-based web syndication format used by weblogs, news websites and web mail, and an HTTP-based protocol for remote editing of Atom-based weblogs.
The terms “publishing a feed” and “syndication” are used to describe making available a feed to client computers. Like syndicated print newspaper features or broadcast programs, data feed contents may be shared and republished by other web sites. (For that reason, one popular definition of RSS is “Really Simple Syndication.”)
One new application of data feeds is to use data feeds as a means for delivering an electronic “slide show” of related images and image descriptions. In this application, most or all of the individual content items of the slide show data feed include a link to an image (the “slide”) and a brief description of the slide (“caption”). When the slide show data feed is accessed, the first content item of the feed, i.e., the first slide and its associated caption, is displayed to the viewer in the viewer's browser or other client application. The display may further be provided with user-selectable buttons that control the display of the other content items, or the slide show may be timed so that the content items are displayed in a sequence over time.
Data feeds have become a very popular and accepted media delivery paradigm. This success has caused the number and variety of data feeds available to clients to grow exponentially. Potential data feed consumers are now confronted with the problems of how to find data feeds and how to organize and manage their subscriptions. Data feed publishers are also confronted with problems including how to market their data feeds effectively, how to generate income from their data feeds, how to create and disseminate data feeds easily, how to support different feed formats and device needs, and how to manage bandwidth and storage costs.
One way of commercializing data feeds is to deliver the data feeds within a window around which advertisements are presented to the user. This is useful because the data feeds need not be changed in order to present them within the advertising window. However, consumers have quickly learned to ignore the advertisements and focus on the data feed content. Furthermore, there is no room for the advertisements in desktop applications now designed to occupy the minimum area of a display screen needed to convey just the media content.